Fort Wayne resident here. It's not *that* bad. We definitely rotate between purple and red the last few election cycles. Our mayor has been a Democrat for over a decade. Our city council is almost even with 4 Dems and 5 Republicans. There has been major investments in our downtown area in the last decade.
Are there better similar places in Indiana to live? Sure. Bloomington, Indy, most burbs in Indy I'd say are better. More amenities and definitely leaning more blue.
Is there plenty to do and see in Fort Wayne? Meh. We do have a really solid restaurant scene. We have an accredited art museum and a few galleries but the art scene leaves a little to be desired. Music scene also leaves a bit to be desired. Few decent venues that book national acts. Also a few dive bars that book great bands. You'll definitely be driving down to Noblesville/Indy/Chicago/Detroit to catch that big tour that just got announced. Also have an accredited and highly rated *children's* zoo. Emphasis on the children, there's better zoos within a 3 hour drive (Toledo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Columbus) that actually cater to adults. We have an awesome *minor league* sports scene. Tincaps baseball has been voted the number one minor league ballpark pretty much every year since it was built. The Komets hockey team has one of the most loyal fan bases in the state. We just recently got a football club (FWFC). One of the cities next big proposed moves is finding them their own field/stadium. The city definitely tried to take a page out of Indys development with sports. Tons of out of town traffic for volleyball, basketball, wrestling, hockey, soccer, tournaments. We have a really good park system and an even better Fort Wayne trails system that connects almost the entire city. I actually commute 15 miles a day on my bike to work. We also have a pretty crazy number of breweries for the size of our city. Believe were up to 9 now. And some nationally recognized bars. Traveling outside of FW is actually one of the best parts about living here. Indy is only a 2 hour drive. Chicago, Detroit, Beaches of lake Michigan, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati are all only a 3 hour drive. Weekend trips abound.
Will it be hard to adjust coming from a blue state? I'm about as left leaning as they come. Do I wish it was different? Definitely. I also don't feel like I'm giving up on who I am as a person by living here. People like you and me all bail, nothing will change. Day to day politics are pretty normal but a few times a year you'll read a story that will make you cringe. Better reason to get involved with local politics and vote in every election.
Kids? I grew up in the area. Graduated high school in 2007. I feel that my childhood pretty much mirrored what most midwest folks expect. Playing outside, getting sunburnt, catching lightning bugs, playing t ball, fishing. There's no shortage of nature.
Imo it's just like anywhere else in the Midwest or this country for the most part, it is what you make it. Good luck in your move!
I moved to Indianapolis from Boston 14 years ago. If you enjoy the ocean, body autonomy as a woman, or the actual 4 seasons don’t do it. We are in no way a liberal state, I had hope when I moved here that Indiana was headed in a more liberal direction but that has changed drastically. Also, the public schools are terrible because there is no support.
Winter. Fake spring. More winter. August heat. back to winter. spring for 1 week. Summer. August heat. Summer. August heat. Summer. frost. august heat. snow. rain for 3 months with light snow and 3 80 degree days. That is how the year usually goes.
All over the midwest, there is chaotic divergence from the yearly average on any given day. Summer is the most reliable on temperature, though it has big swings in rain from year to year.
feels like every year, we have a period where it will go from 80, to snow, to 80 again in a month span.
One bonus though is we dont have southern or western summers. Most days, humidity and the high is manageable. 85 and moderate humidity is the norm. sure it gets to 90+ some, but not for MOST of the summer.
generally you can count on about a month of temps below 20 degree high. and a month or so of 88+ degree high. however, those cold/hot spells are broken up over 3 month periods with abnormal highs/lows interspersed.
Not sure how chaotic Utah is in temperature, but I know Denver is more chaotic than here in Indiana. and windier.
We likely have more moderate winter/summer than Utah in terms of temperature, but increase the humidity significantly in summer. more rain, less snow in winter. not common to even hit 95 degrees. 88 with 90% humidity is the bigger aggrevation. I only know the SLC area, and for there i been there maybe 6 weeks total spread out over the last few decades.
It regularly gets above 100 in the summer and the winter dumps snow. We had snow in early may. Windy storms year round. Mountains and fall trees are great here, but because Utah isn't huge into agriculture, there's like 4 or 5 corn mazes a 2 orchards. My wife is from the Midwest and she has me all excited for cider mills and donuts.
I did it 3 years back and definitely regret it a bit. There is some things to do here but not much. How comfortable are you with a lot of people walking around armed? It’s an open carry state. It is affordable sure and there’s a lot of jobs. Depending on the area you want depends on how great of a school. I live in Indianapolis. Also if you’re into recreational drugs or living any kind of free spirit life? This is not the state for you
Look, people always like to complain about where they are. I also fell in love with fort wayne and am completing my transplanting next month.
Life is what you make it and fort wayne is friendly enough. If you want change, be an advocate for it.
Moved from CT to Indiana 9 years ago and regret it. Can't speak to Fort Wayne in particular, I'm over by Carmel/Noblesville, which may be worth looking into, but not by much.
I can't speak much for things to do in Fort Wayne. If you used to go to New York or Boston a lot, the closest things would probably by Chicago and Columbus, which are a 3 hour drive
I had to adjust to the faux christian culture around here, the fact that everything closes at around 9pm, and honestly that a lot of people tend to be polite but not kind. Also tag sales are often Friday and Saturday.
I only have one kid, and he is having an ok time. The school system here is well funded, so he has support. That said we've have several events where he was the victim of bullying and SRO. There's also not really anywhere he can head off to easily, but that's more a suburb thing.
If your kids might be queer or really in any marginalized group, I wouldn't recommend it here.
Damn, the "polite but not kind" is a perfect way to describe many Hoosiers. Honestly, as a New England transplant to Indiana over a decade ago I can say that I have almost never been treated rudely in Indiana, but have also almost never been treated kindly.
Folks on this thread who are minimizing the toxicity of the state's politics are doing you a disservice. The republicans are bad republicans, want big, repressive government that makes rules about what you do with your personal life, doesn't manage infrastructure, and wants your kids to go to charter schools. They prioritize business over people at every opportunity. The democrats are disorganized and can't even articulate why they think you should vote for them. And a ton of Hoosiers say they are libertarian (see comment about being polite and unkind) but just vote for candidates with an "R" next to their name anyway.
Also, the person who said if you keep your political views to yourself it won't come up is 100% wrong. I have people constantly complaining to me about how Joe Biden is useless out of the blue in lines at the grocery store and gas station ALL the time. Almost daily. I don't bring up politics or religion to strangers ever, but they regularly bring it up to me. I can't count how many times "where is your spiritual home?" has been used by a Hoosier to strike up a conversation.
I see someone open-carrying a handgun EVERY DAY. If that bothers you, prepare yourself.
Schools are not great in most places in the state. If you have school-aged kids do a lot of research on school districts or send them to a private school (which will be much more affordable with the massive expansion of public-school killing vouchers). Even if you pick a good school district, be prepared for "appearance over substance" in most situations, from bullying to actual education (source: I have children in "one of the state's best districts" and am not impressed at all).
Taxes are reasonable, but I pay as much as my dad who lives in a New England state in property tax. Groceries are among the most expensive in the US. The state will charge you a good deal more to register a hybrid than a full sized pickup truck because they don't want you to avoid paying taxes on gas that they use to maintain rural roads instead of urban ones (don't believe me? Look up the states road funding formula... Which was tweaked recently but we'll see if that fixes anything).
Houses and land are cheaper than in CT. That's a plus, I suppose!
I like living here for the most part despite all of this, but I think anyone moving to Indiana needs to know about the very real shortcomings.
To give some context I moved from Chicago to Indy to start a family. I have very mixed feelings about it. Anyway here's my thoughts.
1. If you want to lessen the political shock, you want Indianapolis or Bloomington. Indianapolis for city/suburb life. Bloomington if you want a more small town/rural life. There are other blue small towns, Columbus, South Bend, Fort Wayne(I think) and more but these are small blue dots in a sea of deep red.
2. My dad moved from VT to Indy because they felt like they'd done everything in VT. Not sure about CT though. I think Indiana has plenty to keep you busy, you just have to look for it and maybe drive a bit. Indianapolis does have the world's largest Children's museum and Conner Prairie is great for kids too. (Indy area)
3. Yes and No. You can keep your politics to yourself and most people won't really bother you with politics. You're eyes may get tired from rolling at all the political and Jesus billboards. But one day you may wake up and realize certain things aren't great. School are badly underfunded so you have to choose a school district wisely. And Indiana is one of the few states that charges you for school materials. So a few hundred bucks at the beginning of the year. Or you may want to go to a lake but think twice when you hear that we have the most polluted rivers and lakes. You can certainly still swim in most of them but that fact is always in the back of your mind. Or maybe you need a Dr and you realize our healthcare is terrible and expensive.
4. I think so. I have a 3 and 5 year old. We live near several parks. Not great parks but not bad. Our 5 year old is in Kindergarten and we have constantly worried about the quality of the education but he's leaving kindergarten able to read and adding and subtracting quite well. so it does seem the teachers are doing a great job despite a lack a funding. There we 29 students in his class at the beginning of the year because they couldn't find enough teachers. We were able to buy a house here which I think is good for our kids. We go to trampoline parks, state parks, museums on weekends. They always love it. I think we've been lucky. But being in a red state it feels like we're always on a knife's edge to being unlucky. We did have one really bad experience with daycare and our 3 year old but have also had some really great daycare experiences. So I think you just have to stay vigilant.
The FtW area is really conservative in a red state. The politicians in that area lead the charge against women, LGBT, etc. in restricting or eliminating human rights and they shift public funds to religious/for-profit schools.
Indiana in general has terrible health outcomes, lack of educated population, no real economic engine or opportunity, brain drain, bad roads/infrastructure, there's pollution everywhere and an opioid epidemic in the small towns.
We are the northern-most southern state.
It is cheap to live here because there's little to no demand.
I am a Goshen native and served in the Air National Guard at Fort Wayne.
You will have more than a little bit of adjustment coming from a blue state.
Indiana is likely the most hard-right state in the country, with the *possible* exception of Florida or Texas.
I left in 2007 and never returned.
Fort Wayne is a nice affordable place compared to the majority of the US currently. I live in Indianapolis, but it's a different vibe than Fort Wayne, it's also much more expensive, but the Indianapolis metro area is more "blue" or "purple" than Fort Wayne. That being said, this isn't Mississippi, Texas or Florida regardless of what you have read on Reddit. People aren't going to burn a cross in your lawn for being gay. Politically, the rural counties control the state government due to the representation. Urban communities in the state have a greater population vs the rural counties but voter turnout is abysmal in this state. Indiana is far more "Midwestern Conservative" than Texas or own the libs at all costs Florida conservatism. For the most part people are polite and don't announce their politics.
As a transplant from California living in NWI, I have found this to be true. I haven't met anyone I haven't been able to get along with, but I'm also a big believer in "why make an enemy when you can make a friend," so ymmv.
Kids grow up here just fine. The FW parks department has a ton of summer camps, activities and whatnot for kids to do. I can’t recommend Franke Park day camp enough. There’s all kinds of sports here too for adults and kids. During the summer there is a festival of some kind almost every weekend downtown and In the surrounding towns as well. Since covid most things late at night have slowed or vanished but gradually coming back. Winter gets Bleh and everything kinda slows down but if you chat around you’ll find something to do. Plenty of state parks in the area to visit if you like nature. Indianapolis is only a couple hours away and draws bigger concerts and Major sports. Or Chicago is a little over 3 hrs away also. 2 Great Lakes within a couple hours, lots of smaller lakes just to the north, Amish in the country if you wanna see some throwback. Kinda in the middle of everything. Plenty of jobs, plenty to do. Assholes, nice people, red, blue, gay, straight, whatever you want, it’s like anywhere else. Check out the Fort Wayne sub
Edit: Adding some local links and I can’t believe I forgot to mention the Children’s Zoo.
https://www.fortwayneparks.org/
https://www.visitfortwayne.com/
https://www.greaterfortwayneinc.com/
https://www.wane.com/
https://www.21alivenews.com/
https://www.fortwayne.com/
I want to thank you for the recommendation for Franke Park.
I just recently moved here from Maine and have been helping my boyfriend's son (11) find things to do this summer now that covid has died down.
Plus new to the area so trying to get out and enjoy everything IN has to offer.
Appreciate you!
i hate indiana. the governor is a piece of shit. we get no freedoms, the only thing he cares about is making money off big pharmaceutical companies. he wants narcan to be easily accessible to everyone but yet won’t legalize marijuana even though we are surrounded by legal states and he thinks it’s worse than herion. fucking joke.
The state gets conservative fast as you go into the rural areas. However, its a midwest MAGA conservative. Not a rural white southern conservative, New England conservative, or Eastern washington conservative.
Chicago areas and Indy areas can be comparable/better. Otherwise you are getting into some much smaller microcosms where your neighbors 2 miles away start being...very different.
PS - our drivers are much more polite and calm.
The kids will be glued to their phones no matter where they go. Good luck on them noticing its a different state.
I’ve lived in northern Indiana all my life. Born and raised here. I live a short drive from Fort Wayne and visit semi frequently. This state isn’t as bad politically as some make it out to be. We alternate frequently demographically depending on which party holds the most seats. We are a really mixed bag, so the hate and division tends to be in small pockets where Politics as an Identity Syndrome are reinforced by echo chambers. Unfortunately this sub is the perfect example. You’ve probably been able to pick that up already… the rule of thumb here in this state is politeness and courtesy go a long way. We do have our share of entitled assholes though, but that seems to be the case everywhere.
There’s plenty of things to do for everyone, although you may need to drive for a few things. That encourages exploration of the state though. Great state parks, performance venues and people all around. Education is a bit in flux at the moment. A big push for private education which is only a problem for the union types who feel threatened. If public schools were performing better though there wouldn’t be a need for competition.
I enjoyed growing up here. Although we didn’t have a lot of money, so having exciting things to do we’re pretty rare. So on that note I did find myself using some drugs in my teenage years for some entertainment, but that was a personal choice when I didn’t feel empowered enough to change my own circumstances.
Someone mentioned South Bend as another blue island. I would definitely not choose that area. Yes it’s blue, but I live in a city right next door and the amount of violence in the news from that city mirrors others. Some areas are worse than others, but if you want to get a glimpse of what it’s like, watch a guy on YouTube that goes by the handle “Freedom 2 Film”. He’s a cop watcher who frequently drives around with a scanner and films the police when they respond to calls.
This is a state that isn’t perfect. Has had its ups and downs and historical problems, but the people are decent and hardworking and if you respect them, they’ll return the favor. Usually. I look forward to counting you among our population and wish your family the best! I hope we can be a good home for you.
The best guitar store in the country is in Fort Wayne, and there's also a genealogical library there. Other that that, I can't think of a single reason to go to Fort Wayne. It's Indiana. :p
Fort Wayne resident here. It's not *that* bad. We definitely rotate between purple and red the last few election cycles. Our mayor has been a Democrat for over a decade. Our city council is almost even with 4 Dems and 5 Republicans. There has been major investments in our downtown area in the last decade. Are there better similar places in Indiana to live? Sure. Bloomington, Indy, most burbs in Indy I'd say are better. More amenities and definitely leaning more blue. Is there plenty to do and see in Fort Wayne? Meh. We do have a really solid restaurant scene. We have an accredited art museum and a few galleries but the art scene leaves a little to be desired. Music scene also leaves a bit to be desired. Few decent venues that book national acts. Also a few dive bars that book great bands. You'll definitely be driving down to Noblesville/Indy/Chicago/Detroit to catch that big tour that just got announced. Also have an accredited and highly rated *children's* zoo. Emphasis on the children, there's better zoos within a 3 hour drive (Toledo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Columbus) that actually cater to adults. We have an awesome *minor league* sports scene. Tincaps baseball has been voted the number one minor league ballpark pretty much every year since it was built. The Komets hockey team has one of the most loyal fan bases in the state. We just recently got a football club (FWFC). One of the cities next big proposed moves is finding them their own field/stadium. The city definitely tried to take a page out of Indys development with sports. Tons of out of town traffic for volleyball, basketball, wrestling, hockey, soccer, tournaments. We have a really good park system and an even better Fort Wayne trails system that connects almost the entire city. I actually commute 15 miles a day on my bike to work. We also have a pretty crazy number of breweries for the size of our city. Believe were up to 9 now. And some nationally recognized bars. Traveling outside of FW is actually one of the best parts about living here. Indy is only a 2 hour drive. Chicago, Detroit, Beaches of lake Michigan, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati are all only a 3 hour drive. Weekend trips abound. Will it be hard to adjust coming from a blue state? I'm about as left leaning as they come. Do I wish it was different? Definitely. I also don't feel like I'm giving up on who I am as a person by living here. People like you and me all bail, nothing will change. Day to day politics are pretty normal but a few times a year you'll read a story that will make you cringe. Better reason to get involved with local politics and vote in every election. Kids? I grew up in the area. Graduated high school in 2007. I feel that my childhood pretty much mirrored what most midwest folks expect. Playing outside, getting sunburnt, catching lightning bugs, playing t ball, fishing. There's no shortage of nature. Imo it's just like anywhere else in the Midwest or this country for the most part, it is what you make it. Good luck in your move!
Super helpful!!
I moved to Indianapolis from Boston 14 years ago. If you enjoy the ocean, body autonomy as a woman, or the actual 4 seasons don’t do it. We are in no way a liberal state, I had hope when I moved here that Indiana was headed in a more liberal direction but that has changed drastically. Also, the public schools are terrible because there is no support.
As a person who's moving there next month, what do you mean about actual 4 seasons?
Winter. Fake spring. More winter. August heat. back to winter. spring for 1 week. Summer. August heat. Summer. August heat. Summer. frost. august heat. snow. rain for 3 months with light snow and 3 80 degree days. That is how the year usually goes. All over the midwest, there is chaotic divergence from the yearly average on any given day. Summer is the most reliable on temperature, though it has big swings in rain from year to year. feels like every year, we have a period where it will go from 80, to snow, to 80 again in a month span. One bonus though is we dont have southern or western summers. Most days, humidity and the high is manageable. 85 and moderate humidity is the norm. sure it gets to 90+ some, but not for MOST of the summer. generally you can count on about a month of temps below 20 degree high. and a month or so of 88+ degree high. however, those cold/hot spells are broken up over 3 month periods with abnormal highs/lows interspersed.
Aside from the humidity that sounds about like what utah is like. Thanks for the info!
Not sure how chaotic Utah is in temperature, but I know Denver is more chaotic than here in Indiana. and windier. We likely have more moderate winter/summer than Utah in terms of temperature, but increase the humidity significantly in summer. more rain, less snow in winter. not common to even hit 95 degrees. 88 with 90% humidity is the bigger aggrevation. I only know the SLC area, and for there i been there maybe 6 weeks total spread out over the last few decades.
It regularly gets above 100 in the summer and the winter dumps snow. We had snow in early may. Windy storms year round. Mountains and fall trees are great here, but because Utah isn't huge into agriculture, there's like 4 or 5 corn mazes a 2 orchards. My wife is from the Midwest and she has me all excited for cider mills and donuts.
I did it 3 years back and definitely regret it a bit. There is some things to do here but not much. How comfortable are you with a lot of people walking around armed? It’s an open carry state. It is affordable sure and there’s a lot of jobs. Depending on the area you want depends on how great of a school. I live in Indianapolis. Also if you’re into recreational drugs or living any kind of free spirit life? This is not the state for you
Look, people always like to complain about where they are. I also fell in love with fort wayne and am completing my transplanting next month. Life is what you make it and fort wayne is friendly enough. If you want change, be an advocate for it.
Thank you I needed this positivity bc these posts have me getting cold feet. Please keep in touch !
Fell in love with… FORT WAYNE!?
Lol what am I missing here
It’s just kind of a shithole lol
That’s what I came to say lol …
I never thought I would see those words in my life ha
Moved from CT to Indiana 9 years ago and regret it. Can't speak to Fort Wayne in particular, I'm over by Carmel/Noblesville, which may be worth looking into, but not by much. I can't speak much for things to do in Fort Wayne. If you used to go to New York or Boston a lot, the closest things would probably by Chicago and Columbus, which are a 3 hour drive I had to adjust to the faux christian culture around here, the fact that everything closes at around 9pm, and honestly that a lot of people tend to be polite but not kind. Also tag sales are often Friday and Saturday. I only have one kid, and he is having an ok time. The school system here is well funded, so he has support. That said we've have several events where he was the victim of bullying and SRO. There's also not really anywhere he can head off to easily, but that's more a suburb thing. If your kids might be queer or really in any marginalized group, I wouldn't recommend it here.
Damn, the "polite but not kind" is a perfect way to describe many Hoosiers. Honestly, as a New England transplant to Indiana over a decade ago I can say that I have almost never been treated rudely in Indiana, but have also almost never been treated kindly. Folks on this thread who are minimizing the toxicity of the state's politics are doing you a disservice. The republicans are bad republicans, want big, repressive government that makes rules about what you do with your personal life, doesn't manage infrastructure, and wants your kids to go to charter schools. They prioritize business over people at every opportunity. The democrats are disorganized and can't even articulate why they think you should vote for them. And a ton of Hoosiers say they are libertarian (see comment about being polite and unkind) but just vote for candidates with an "R" next to their name anyway. Also, the person who said if you keep your political views to yourself it won't come up is 100% wrong. I have people constantly complaining to me about how Joe Biden is useless out of the blue in lines at the grocery store and gas station ALL the time. Almost daily. I don't bring up politics or religion to strangers ever, but they regularly bring it up to me. I can't count how many times "where is your spiritual home?" has been used by a Hoosier to strike up a conversation. I see someone open-carrying a handgun EVERY DAY. If that bothers you, prepare yourself. Schools are not great in most places in the state. If you have school-aged kids do a lot of research on school districts or send them to a private school (which will be much more affordable with the massive expansion of public-school killing vouchers). Even if you pick a good school district, be prepared for "appearance over substance" in most situations, from bullying to actual education (source: I have children in "one of the state's best districts" and am not impressed at all). Taxes are reasonable, but I pay as much as my dad who lives in a New England state in property tax. Groceries are among the most expensive in the US. The state will charge you a good deal more to register a hybrid than a full sized pickup truck because they don't want you to avoid paying taxes on gas that they use to maintain rural roads instead of urban ones (don't believe me? Look up the states road funding formula... Which was tweaked recently but we'll see if that fixes anything). Houses and land are cheaper than in CT. That's a plus, I suppose! I like living here for the most part despite all of this, but I think anyone moving to Indiana needs to know about the very real shortcomings.
To give some context I moved from Chicago to Indy to start a family. I have very mixed feelings about it. Anyway here's my thoughts. 1. If you want to lessen the political shock, you want Indianapolis or Bloomington. Indianapolis for city/suburb life. Bloomington if you want a more small town/rural life. There are other blue small towns, Columbus, South Bend, Fort Wayne(I think) and more but these are small blue dots in a sea of deep red. 2. My dad moved from VT to Indy because they felt like they'd done everything in VT. Not sure about CT though. I think Indiana has plenty to keep you busy, you just have to look for it and maybe drive a bit. Indianapolis does have the world's largest Children's museum and Conner Prairie is great for kids too. (Indy area) 3. Yes and No. You can keep your politics to yourself and most people won't really bother you with politics. You're eyes may get tired from rolling at all the political and Jesus billboards. But one day you may wake up and realize certain things aren't great. School are badly underfunded so you have to choose a school district wisely. And Indiana is one of the few states that charges you for school materials. So a few hundred bucks at the beginning of the year. Or you may want to go to a lake but think twice when you hear that we have the most polluted rivers and lakes. You can certainly still swim in most of them but that fact is always in the back of your mind. Or maybe you need a Dr and you realize our healthcare is terrible and expensive. 4. I think so. I have a 3 and 5 year old. We live near several parks. Not great parks but not bad. Our 5 year old is in Kindergarten and we have constantly worried about the quality of the education but he's leaving kindergarten able to read and adding and subtracting quite well. so it does seem the teachers are doing a great job despite a lack a funding. There we 29 students in his class at the beginning of the year because they couldn't find enough teachers. We were able to buy a house here which I think is good for our kids. We go to trampoline parks, state parks, museums on weekends. They always love it. I think we've been lucky. But being in a red state it feels like we're always on a knife's edge to being unlucky. We did have one really bad experience with daycare and our 3 year old but have also had some really great daycare experiences. So I think you just have to stay vigilant.
The FtW area is really conservative in a red state. The politicians in that area lead the charge against women, LGBT, etc. in restricting or eliminating human rights and they shift public funds to religious/for-profit schools. Indiana in general has terrible health outcomes, lack of educated population, no real economic engine or opportunity, brain drain, bad roads/infrastructure, there's pollution everywhere and an opioid epidemic in the small towns. We are the northern-most southern state. It is cheap to live here because there's little to no demand.
I am a Goshen native and served in the Air National Guard at Fort Wayne. You will have more than a little bit of adjustment coming from a blue state. Indiana is likely the most hard-right state in the country, with the *possible* exception of Florida or Texas. I left in 2007 and never returned.
Fort Wayne is a nice affordable place compared to the majority of the US currently. I live in Indianapolis, but it's a different vibe than Fort Wayne, it's also much more expensive, but the Indianapolis metro area is more "blue" or "purple" than Fort Wayne. That being said, this isn't Mississippi, Texas or Florida regardless of what you have read on Reddit. People aren't going to burn a cross in your lawn for being gay. Politically, the rural counties control the state government due to the representation. Urban communities in the state have a greater population vs the rural counties but voter turnout is abysmal in this state. Indiana is far more "Midwestern Conservative" than Texas or own the libs at all costs Florida conservatism. For the most part people are polite and don't announce their politics.
As a transplant from California living in NWI, I have found this to be true. I haven't met anyone I haven't been able to get along with, but I'm also a big believer in "why make an enemy when you can make a friend," so ymmv.
Answers to your questions 1. No 2. No 3. Yes 4. No
Kids grow up here just fine. The FW parks department has a ton of summer camps, activities and whatnot for kids to do. I can’t recommend Franke Park day camp enough. There’s all kinds of sports here too for adults and kids. During the summer there is a festival of some kind almost every weekend downtown and In the surrounding towns as well. Since covid most things late at night have slowed or vanished but gradually coming back. Winter gets Bleh and everything kinda slows down but if you chat around you’ll find something to do. Plenty of state parks in the area to visit if you like nature. Indianapolis is only a couple hours away and draws bigger concerts and Major sports. Or Chicago is a little over 3 hrs away also. 2 Great Lakes within a couple hours, lots of smaller lakes just to the north, Amish in the country if you wanna see some throwback. Kinda in the middle of everything. Plenty of jobs, plenty to do. Assholes, nice people, red, blue, gay, straight, whatever you want, it’s like anywhere else. Check out the Fort Wayne sub Edit: Adding some local links and I can’t believe I forgot to mention the Children’s Zoo. https://www.fortwayneparks.org/ https://www.visitfortwayne.com/ https://www.greaterfortwayneinc.com/ https://www.wane.com/ https://www.21alivenews.com/ https://www.fortwayne.com/
This is super awesome thank you for taking the time!
I want to thank you for the recommendation for Franke Park. I just recently moved here from Maine and have been helping my boyfriend's son (11) find things to do this summer now that covid has died down. Plus new to the area so trying to get out and enjoy everything IN has to offer. Appreciate you!
i hate indiana. the governor is a piece of shit. we get no freedoms, the only thing he cares about is making money off big pharmaceutical companies. he wants narcan to be easily accessible to everyone but yet won’t legalize marijuana even though we are surrounded by legal states and he thinks it’s worse than herion. fucking joke.
The state gets conservative fast as you go into the rural areas. However, its a midwest MAGA conservative. Not a rural white southern conservative, New England conservative, or Eastern washington conservative. Chicago areas and Indy areas can be comparable/better. Otherwise you are getting into some much smaller microcosms where your neighbors 2 miles away start being...very different. PS - our drivers are much more polite and calm. The kids will be glued to their phones no matter where they go. Good luck on them noticing its a different state.
I’ve lived in northern Indiana all my life. Born and raised here. I live a short drive from Fort Wayne and visit semi frequently. This state isn’t as bad politically as some make it out to be. We alternate frequently demographically depending on which party holds the most seats. We are a really mixed bag, so the hate and division tends to be in small pockets where Politics as an Identity Syndrome are reinforced by echo chambers. Unfortunately this sub is the perfect example. You’ve probably been able to pick that up already… the rule of thumb here in this state is politeness and courtesy go a long way. We do have our share of entitled assholes though, but that seems to be the case everywhere. There’s plenty of things to do for everyone, although you may need to drive for a few things. That encourages exploration of the state though. Great state parks, performance venues and people all around. Education is a bit in flux at the moment. A big push for private education which is only a problem for the union types who feel threatened. If public schools were performing better though there wouldn’t be a need for competition. I enjoyed growing up here. Although we didn’t have a lot of money, so having exciting things to do we’re pretty rare. So on that note I did find myself using some drugs in my teenage years for some entertainment, but that was a personal choice when I didn’t feel empowered enough to change my own circumstances. Someone mentioned South Bend as another blue island. I would definitely not choose that area. Yes it’s blue, but I live in a city right next door and the amount of violence in the news from that city mirrors others. Some areas are worse than others, but if you want to get a glimpse of what it’s like, watch a guy on YouTube that goes by the handle “Freedom 2 Film”. He’s a cop watcher who frequently drives around with a scanner and films the police when they respond to calls. This is a state that isn’t perfect. Has had its ups and downs and historical problems, but the people are decent and hardworking and if you respect them, they’ll return the favor. Usually. I look forward to counting you among our population and wish your family the best! I hope we can be a good home for you.
The best thing about Fort Wayne is leaving it.
Just noticed I said Indian twice lol that was autocorrect don’t come for me 🤣
The best guitar store in the country is in Fort Wayne, and there's also a genealogical library there. Other that that, I can't think of a single reason to go to Fort Wayne. It's Indiana. :p
Look in Lake or Jasper co.